Makishi Rokugawa says he is installing the first gold vending machines in central Tokyo so consumers can invest in "something real."
Space International Ltd., a company started by Rokugawa with funds from selling novelty USB flash drives, is offering gold or silver to the world's biggest vending machine market, where consumers can buy anything from drinks and candy to lingerie and fortunetelling printouts.
With deflation cutting consumer prices for 21 straight months through November, salaries the smallest since 1990, bond yields the world's lowest, and the stock market 40 percent below its December 1989 peak, "ordinary Japanese need a way to invest in something they can touch," Rokugawa, 35, said at a media conference Monday.